Stop if you’ve heard this one before. The Green Bay Packers are looking for defensive help this offseason and their plans involve a Bears player. In 2018 they went after Kyle Fuller before Chicago was able to reel him back in. Then last year they make a strong push to sign Adrian Amos as their new starting safety. Now here the 2020 offseason is and word has begun to leak out that the hated team up north has yet another Bears player in their sights. That being linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski.
Packers insider Aaron Nagler of CheeseheadTV has it on good authority that Green Bay views the former backup as a prime target among inside linebackers next month.
“According to multiple sources here in Indianapolis during the scouting combine, the Packers plan to make a run at soon-to-be-former Bears linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski.
A former fourth round draft pick, Kwiatkoski has played 57 games, totaling 133 solo tackles (13 for a loss), six sacks, eight quarterback hits, four forced fumbles, one interception and eight pass breakups.”
The buzz around the league is that Kwiatkoski will be a hot property. His standout play in relief of the injured Danny Trevathan earned a ton of credibility at the perfect time. The Bears, with several other more pressing needs on the roster, aren’t in a position to meet his likely price tag.
Losing Nick Kwiatkoski is tough but necessary
It’s not a surprise the Packers would be interested. They’ve seen plenty of Kwiatkoski on tape and their defense has a glaring weakness at inside linebacker. So it’s only logical they’d view him as a key option in their offseason plans. The Bears know they can’t afford to keep everybody on defense. Not after just handing Eddie Jackson his lucrative extension last month. Sacrifices are sometimes made.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
They still have Roquan Smith in place and he was playing like a star prior to his pectoral injury. Odds are they will attempt to keep Trevathan on a cheaper deal and maybe retain Kevin Pierre-Louis as well. Things should remain stable for the Bears at inside linebacker. Hopefully, Kwiatkoski won’t go to the dark side as Amos did.
